


Earth Fifty-One

by brinshannara



Series: 52 Times Alex and Maggie Met [9]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Earth, F/F, Multiverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:54:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22046719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brinshannara/pseuds/brinshannara
Summary: What if Dr. Alexandra Danvers gets embarrassed by Margarita Sawyer in front of her students and then runs into her some months later? What if the inclement weather forces them to spend time together in a city Alex doesn't know at all?
Relationships: Alex Danvers & Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers & Maggie Sawyer, Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer
Series: 52 Times Alex and Maggie Met [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/987597
Comments: 76
Kudos: 222





	Earth Fifty-One

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this Earth came from [@tashaldunn](https://twitter.com/tashaldunn). Here's what I was given as requirements:
> 
> \- Kara exists and is Supergirl  
> \- Kara and Alex are as close as they are on the show  
> \- Alex is out to everyone  
> \- Alex is a college professor  
> \- Maggie is out to everyone  
> \- Maggie needs to be a professional in the industry that Alex teaches in  
> \- Both are single
> 
> Scenario: They meet professionally and initially bump heads but are both secretly into the other from the beginning. You can decide from there. :)
> 
> As always, comments and kudos remind me that, though I write primarily for myself, others do appreciate it when I put my stuff out there. Thanks for reading. :)
> 
>  **WARNING** : During Maggie's presentation, there's some descriptive language about a hypothetical double homicide. You may want to skip that if that's not something you'd be comfortable reading. You can pick up at the line: _And then! Then!_ as Alex summarizes the experience for Kara.

A knock at the door disturbed her reading.

"Dr. Danvers?"

Alex sighed and looked up. Hovering in the doorway of her office was one of her research assistants, Andrew Webster. "Yes?"

He fidgeted and cleared his throat. "Uh, I, um, wanted to make sure you got my email?"

"Your email." She raised an eyebrow. "What was it about?"

He cleared his throat again. "Uh, lab time tomorrow."

She considered. "Oh, yes, there was that speaker coming in you wanted to see, correct?"

Andrew nodded.

"As long as you make it up this week sometime, that's fine, Andrew."

"Thanks, Dr. Danvers, I appreciate it!"

"Not a problem."

Her assistant looked ready to bolt. "Andrew."

"Yes, Dr. Danvers?"

"Where's this talk?"

"Uh, it's in the Hall building, the auditorium. At two in the afternoon."

"And it's a forensic scientist speaking, correct?"

He nodded.

"I believe I'm free then," she said. "Might see you there."

"Uh, cool, cool," he replied, fidgety as ever. "See you tomorrow, Dr. Danvers."

"Have a good evening, Andrew."

With that, he left the doorway to her office. Alex smiled to herself. She did rather enjoy scaring the students with her no-nonsense attitude. It wasn't even that she was acting very much, just maybe taking it a little further than she would have naturally gone. Everyone in the department at the university was terrified of her. She had to admit that she was amused that  _ no one _ dared to call her anything but Dr. Danvers.

***

The next day, Alex wandered into the auditorium of the Hall building at 1:50 in the afternoon, surprised to see that the room was close to capacity. She was also surprised to see several of her own students there. True, forensic science was a pathway for many biochemistry students, but most of her students were planning on academia. Weren't they?

She sat down in a seat towards the back of the auditorium. She put in the earpiece for her communicator and gave a quiet command to contact her sister.

"Hey," Kara said, "what's up?"

"Oh, waiting for a guest speaker to talk about forensic science. You?"

"Work."

"… which, uh, office?" she asked, delicately, knowing her sister couldn't give too many details about her other job in conversation.

"The one in the middle of nowhere," she muttered. "Can't talk. Food and holos tonight at my place?"

"I was hoping for that," Alex admitted. "I'll bring the food."

"Don't forget the—"

"The potstickers, I know, Kara, I know," she chuckled. "See you around 7?"

"Yep! Okay, I gotta fly."

"Later," Alex said, ending the connection. It was something to look forward to. She blew out a breath. It had been a rough few months, ever since she had broken up with her girlfriend, Alison. Ali had been nice and sweet and kind and pretty, but she wasn't  _ particularly  _ smart. It hadn't bothered Alex at first, not during the first few months where limerence made everything seem better than it actually was.

Six months into their relationship was when she realized that she needed more intellectual stimulation. She worked with brilliant colleagues and most of her friends challenged her intellectually. Not having that same rapport with Ali meant that she increasingly could not have conversations of the type she wanted with her girlfriend. Alex hadn't wanted to go into the weeds about biochemical reactions or theories, but she wanted to talk to someone intelligently about things. It could be politics, or current events, even philosophical questions. She also wanted someone she could trust to talk to about her sister, but Ali had never even seen through Kara's ridiculously poor disguise.  _ Glasses _ , she scoffed inwardly, even now.

Alex shifted her attention to the stage as two women appeared from backstage. The tall blonde was Teresa Scott, a member of National City University's career planning department. Next to her was an attractive woman with dark brown hair and tan skin, who appeared much shorter than Teresa.

"Everyone, I'd like to thank you for being here today," she began, speaking into the microphone at the podium. "Today's guest is Margarita Sawyer, who's visiting us from Chicago where she serves as a forensic scientist. Ms. Sawyer got her BSc in Physics from the University of Nebraska. After that, she pursued her MSc in Forensic Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Ms. Sawyer," she said, "they're all yours."

"Thank you," she said, adjusting the microphone downwards. She cleared her throat. "Good afternoon, everyone. Here's how to get away with murder in Annus 2064."

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"In this modern age, the age of science and technology, it's much more difficult to get away with murder than it was even 30 anni ago. Back then, genetic evidence wasn't taken seriously, it wasn't yet trusted. Fingerprints were much more commonly used to help identify a suspect as the likely perpetrator." She clicked her remote and the screen behind her lit up with a set of fingerprints. "So the first thing to know about fingerprints is that no one has the same fingerprints as someone else." She held up her hand, as though to forestall questions. "And yes, that includes identical twins, triplets and other multiples." She clicked to the next screen which showed a pair of gloves. "So rule number one, always try to avoid leaving any fingerprints at the crime scene. If you absolutely have to leave fingerprints, do your best to get rid of them before you leave the scene. And, for the love of Caesar, do  _ not  _ go back to the scene of the crime to clean up after yourself. You ever notice how criminals who do that in books and movies get caught when they go back? That's a common trope for a reason. Don't do that. Do the deed, then wipe everything down."

Alex conceded that the woman had a very intriguing and entertaining presentation. Still, she wasn't sure she liked the perspective she'd chosen.

"Now, like I said, the best thing here is to wear gloves. But if it's a crime of passion, then what? Say you caught your partner with someone else, you're not going to ask them to wait while you get gloves before you kill them, right?"

The room chuckled at that. Meanwhile, Alex had noted, with interest, that Ms. Sawyer had used the term  _ partner _ . She was always interested to know if someone was merely being inclusive or if they were speaking from experience.

"So let's say that's what's happened. The would-be love of your life is in your shared bed with someone else and things escalate. So you grab something heavy and slam it into someone's skull," she said, acting it out, "while the other person tries to make a break for it. You catch them, tackle them, then close your hands around their neck and end up suffocating them. And there you go, double homicide."

Alex made a face. She definitely didn't like the direction this was going.

"Let's say the thing you picked up was a heavy, decorative candlestick." She paused. "Yes, yes, it was me, in the bedroom, with a candlestick, I can hear you all thinking it," she grinned.

She rolled her eyes at the joke, but she had to admit that she  _ had  _ been thinking the same thing.

"So now, you have a problem. I mean, you have a lot of problems, obviously, if you've just bashed in one person's head with a candlestick and you've strangled someone else. Let's be fair," she grinned. "But you have a major problem here in terms of evidence. Your fingerprints are on the candlestick. Now, since you live here, it's reasonable that your fingerprints should appear on the candlestick. So, show of hands, who here thinks you shouldn't wipe down the candlestick because it's yours and it's in your home?"

Alex watched as a good half of the auditorium raised their hands. She quietly scoffed to herself, keeping her hand down.

"Right, yeah, that's about half of you," she said, nodding. She clicked her remote again. "Wrong!" There was a big red X on the screen. "What did I say was rule number one? Oh, yeah, that's right,  _ get rid of the fingerprints _ ." She looked into the audience. "Anyone wanna guess why we should wipe down the candlestick?"

A few people raised their hands and Ms. Sawyer selected a girl down in the second row.

"It's clearly a murder weapon, so they'll dust it for prints. If no prints other than your own and maybe your partner's show up, then they'll know it's you?"

"Exactly. Did you guys hear that in the back? The very lack of other prints would point directly to you, even if it's normal for your prints to be on there. Without noticeable smudges on the existing prints from a glove or a cloth while using it to hit someone, it would be very suspicious. You'd have your prints on it and no one else's. So you wipe down the candlestick to smudge or ruin all the fingerprints, so it looks as though someone else didn't want to leave fingerprints behind." She took a sip from her glass of water at the podium. "All right, so we've wiped down the candlestick. Are we home free?"

There was a murmur of people saying "no" in the audience.

"Very good, we are  _ not yet _ home free," she said, cheerfully. "For example, was there blood drawn when you hit the person with the candlestick? Did your hands get bloody? Did you then strangle the other individual with bloody hands? If so, you've got to make sure you don't have any blood on yourself and you've got to obfuscate the bloody prints. If you have blood on your clothes, you'll want to bleach them, which would probably ruin the clothing, or burn them. If you have blood on yourself, first, wash it off — and don't forget to get rid of fingerprints at the sink! That said, even trace amounts of blood can be picked up with luminol. And please, don't forget under your nails!" She clicked her remote again to show a picture of someone thoroughly scrubbing under their nails. She looked back out at the audience. "Okay, we've wiped down the candlestick, obfuscated any bloody prints, washed ourselves exceedingly well and burnt any clothing with blood on them. Are we done yet? Hands up if you think we're done."

About a quarter of the people in the audience raised their hands.

"Wrong!" she said again, clicking through to the next slide, another red X. "The person you strangled — did they fight back? Did they punch you? Bite you? Scratch you? Pull your hair? Did you bleed? Is your genetic material in their mouth? How about under their nails?" She clicked to the next slide which only had a big screw on it. "You're screwed."

The crowd laughed and even Alex smiled.

"You might not think it's a big deal if your genetic material is lying around, especially if you've never committed a crime. Records wouldn't exist, right? Wrong. Ever serve in the military? They have your DNA on file. What about the police? Same thing. And then, even if your genetic information isn't on file already, it will be. They'll want to get a sample from you to exclude you from the general samples they'll have taken. It's your home, right? Your DNA, your hairs, will be everywhere. When they get to the skin under the fingernails or a drop of blood from a bloody nose when you were punched, and they realize they have a match? Yeah. You're screwed." She went to the next screen which showed a bottle of bleach. "If you suspect any of your DNA is on the body, check for hair first. Check their hands. Their clothes. Remove any hairs. Then, if they bit you, scratched you, anything like that, douse it in bleach. Just pour a ton of bleach all over the area. Soak their nails in it. Pour it in their mouths." She looked out at the audience again. "Are we good now?"

No one raised their hands.

"Right, we will never be 100% safe, because bleach only degrades DNA, it doesn't necessarily destroy it. They can compile a full DNA profile from just one nanogram per microliter. So…" She clicked through to another screen that showed the logo of an old movie,  _ War Games _ . "Don't kill people. Don't commit crimes. You will almost certainly get caught. The only way to win here is to not play." She smiled and clicked the screen off. "Questions?"

Dozens of hands shot up. Most of the questions were about Ms. Sawyer herself and her experiences.

"What's the weirdest thing that's ever happened to you on the job?" someone asked.

"Oh, that's a great question," she said. "There was this crime scene, big murder, triple homicide, and we had nothing, no prints, nothing. And then, I found a perfect, crisp print. It was beautiful. I sent it to the lab for analysis and I was so excited!" She sighed. "And then… it came back as my own. I had touched something inadvertently without wearing my gloves." She rolled her eyes.

"What made you go into forensics after a background in physics?" another person asked.

She nodded. "It's weird, right? How do I go into forensics after  _ physics _ ?" She took a sip of water as she considered her answer. "Someone I was very close to was killed, and the murderer got away, right as I was finishing up my undergrad in physics," she said, slowly. "So I shifted my priorities, took some chemistry classes, graduated and then moved to Chicago for my masters in Forensic Science." She quirked a small smile. "My decision to move to forensics was personal, but I do enjoy the work."

Alex raised both her eyebrows at the woman's openness and honesty and wondered who had been killed while Ms. Sawyer fielded other questions. A few questions later, Alex dismissed her theories as her ears perked up, hearing a familiar voice asking a question.

"What do you think about the relatively new development about being able to tell a person's age range from a blood sample?" one of Alex's grad students asked.

She'd been the lead author on a paper about it a couple of anni ago and knew that Marissa was familiar with it.

Ms. Sawyer shook her head. "It's got potential, sure, but it's still far out there."

"What do you think about the paper written by Danvers et al. about it from 2062?"

"I think the paper has its flaws, particularly the recommendation in which the authors advocate for the use of this in current criminal investigations."

Alex raised her hand at that.

"Yes?"

She stood, hands on her hips. "I'm Dr. Alexandra Danvers, the lead author on that paper."

"Dr. Danvers," Ms. Sawyer said, with a smile. "It's a pleasure."

"Yes, well, I'd be interested to know why you think the recommendation we concluded with in that paper would be a flaw." She folded her arms across her chest.

"I think it's premature," she said, easily. "The tests you reference in the paper all had to do with human serum and not actual blood. Further, as I'm sure you're aware, ALP concentrations can vary. Plus, your paper doesn't even take pregnancy into consideration."

Alex glared at her. "Surely some form of an age range is better than no idea."

"I disagree," she argued with a smile. "While it seems sound in theory, in practice I'd rather have no idea what age a potential perpetrator might be. I'd rather that than focusing an investigation on someone outside the person's actual range."

"I suggest you read through Dunn's 2061 paper on ALP concentrations. You'll see that the variations of which you speak are fairly rare as these are consistent in general."

"As it happens, I spoke with Dr. Dunn last year and she conceded that I had a great point, particularly when it came to pregnancy." She smiled at Alex. "Thank you for your comments and I suggest you contact Dr. Dunn and ask her about the paper she's currently writing."

Alex sat down, fuming. Not only had she been  _ dismissed  _ by this… this  _ interloper _ , but she'd been embarrassed in front of a ton of her students. She would have stormed out of the hall, except that would only serve to prove that Ms. Sawyer had won. She ignored the rest of the questions, which lasted another ten minutes before politely applauding the forensic scientist and exiting the hall as quickly as possible.

***

"And then! Then! She  _ thanked  _ me for my comments and suggested I contact Dr. Dunn!" she exclaimed to her sister and then finished the rest of her piece of pizza, chewing furiously. She was still incensed.

"The very nerve of her —  _ thanking  _ you in front of everyone!" Kara laughed.

Alex huffed. "I… it was humiliating, Kara," she moaned.

"I'm sure she didn't realize how insulting it might be."

She let out a long sigh. Her sister had  _ the  _ most irritating habit of seeing the best in every situation. "I guess that's possible."

"And she's gone by now, right? Going back to Chicago?"

She shrugged, taking a bite of a new piece of pizza. "I guess," she said, her mouth full.

"So why do you care so much?"

She swallowed. "Gee, I don't know, the lasting damage to my reputation? Overall embarrassment?"

"No one will remember this six months from now."

"Me. I will. I'll remember."

Kara rolled her eyes. "I know  _ you  _ will. But no one else will."

"I bet  _ she  _ will."

Her sister looked over at her. "So, uh, was she cute?"

Alex glared at her.

"Okay, okay, I was just asking! It's been a while since Ali, after all."

"Let's get back to the movie, okay," she said, knowing Kara would take it as a win.

Alex got home a couple of hours later. She was in a better mood, at least. Her sister always somehow cheered her up. Still, she was a bit out of sorts, so after taking a shower and changing into her pajamas, she brought her portable computer over to her bed.

The first thing she did was write to Dr. Dunn about her upcoming paper and asked if she could be of any assistance.

Next, she Yahooed Margarita Sawyer. She got her professional profile on Yahoo!Jobs, but that didn't tell her what she wanted to know. She wanted to know what had happened that had taken Ms. Sawyer from physics to forensics. Irritatingly, the other woman seemed as though she would remain a mystery.

***

It was early February of Annus 2065 and Alex had landed at the Chicago airport. She'd been summoned as an expert witness for the defense in a rather gruesome murder case. One of the lawyers on the defense team, Julius, was an old friend from university and so Alex had happily agreed to fly out. She'd testify on how the data collected from blood at the scene seemed to exonerate the defendant.

Alex zipped through the crowds, trailing her small, wheeled carry-on behind her and her laptop bag slung over her shoulder. She made her way to the pickup zone where a driver was waiting for her. She found a slender, attractive blonde woman standing there with a sign saying "DANVERS".

"I'm Alex Danvers," she said, walking up to her with a smile, hand extended.

"Good evening, Dr. Danvers," she said, shaking her hand firmly. "My name is Antonia. May I take your luggage?"

"It's fine," she smiled.

"As you wish," the woman smiled back. "If you'd follow me?"

"Of course."

Alex followed Antonia out to where the car was waiting and let Antonia place her carry-on in the trunk. She then opened the door for Alex. "My, how chivalrous," she smiled, attempting to gauge any possible interest from the other woman.

"Just doing my job," she replied, a smile on her lips, closing the door after Alex was seated.

"So much for that," Alex muttered under her breath. It had been close to a full annus since she and Alison had broken up. Though she'd been out on a few dates, mostly at Kara's insistence, there had been no one all that interesting. Or, as in Antonia's case, interested.

The driver got into the car and they were soon on their way.

It was a long, uneventful drive, and Alex quickly discovered that Antonia was not particularly conversational. So she'd abandoned her attempts to make small talk and pulled out her laptop to review things. It would be a short stay in Chicago, as she was scheduled to testify the following morning before flying out the next evening.

They pulled up to the hotel around quarter past eight, after a good forty-minute drive. Antonia pulled the luggage out of the trunk while one of the hotel doormen opened Alex's door.

"Ma'am," he said, smiling.

"Hello," she replied.

Antonia left the bag for the doorman. "Good evening, Dr. Danvers."

"Thanks, Antonia. Have a good night."

Less than ten minutes later, Alex was in her suite at the hotel. She took a few minutes to luxuriate in the thick carpet, test out the ridiculously large king-sized bed and take in the view. Julius had spared no expense, apparently. As her stomach rumbled, she went leafing through the room service menu. She decided on the prime filet mignon, in a pepper sauce, served with grilled asparagus and homemade fries, along with a glass of red wine. After all, if Julius was paying, why shouldn't she treat herself?

After placing the order, she wandered to the bathroom. It was enormous, with a huge shower and an even bigger sunken tub, with a large television screen on the opposite wall. "Well, I know what I'm doing tonight," she smiled.

Alex was in bed by half-past midnight, after having had a delicious meal and a long soak in the tub.

***

In theory, the day would be easy. Arrive at the courthouse by nine, testify for the defense sometime after that, then be cross-examined and then she'd be excused. Julius had arranged for a late checkout for her so she didn't need to worry about her bags. Then she'd check out of the hotel, a driver would bring her back to the airport and then she'd be back home a few hours later.

It was all going according to plan until she and Julius exited the conference room, after their preparation, and she caught a glimpse of someone familiar in the crowded hallway. She frowned, trying to decide if her mind had been playing tricks on her. And then the figure turned around.

Her shoulders slumped as her fears were proven correct. It was Margarita Sawyer.

"Julius, is a there a forensic scientist named Sawyer involved in this case?"

He turned and looked at her. "Yeah. Why, do you know her?"

She sighed. "We had a brief encounter while she was giving a talk at the university last fall."

"An  _ encounter _ ?" he chuckled.

Alex glared at him until he regained his composure. "Are we done being twelve, now?"

He nodded, looking appropriately chastised.

"So what's her connection here?"

"She's the lead forensic scientist."

"Julius fucking Caesar," she cursed. "They'll try to throw out the paper I wrote."

"What?"

She dragged him back into the conference room and blew out a breath. "She claims my paper is inaccurate because our tests were run with serum and not actual blood."

"Great Jupiter, Alex, why didn't you tell me this before? Your entire testimony is based on that paper!"

"Because I think she's full of it, and I didn't know she was on the case!"

"So can your paper be disproved?"

"Not by anything that's published, yet, but the author of another paper conceded that Sawyer had a good point about the ALP concentrations." She paused. "Is there a Dr. Dunn on their witness list?"

He pulled out a bunch of papers from his briefcase and flipped through them. "No, doesn't look like it."

She exhaled. "Good." Alex looked over at Julius. "Are we sure your client is innocent?"

"Listen, Claudius has a great alibi with three witnesses to back him up. The DNA evidence limiting the age range to around 25 anni is just the icing on the cake. I'm sure he didn't do it."

Alex shook her head. "I'll be crucified on cross-examination. There are limits to my research."

He turned and half-sat on the long, wooden conference table. "So just say that."

"Say what?"

"Claim that the questions are outside the scope of your research."

She raised an eyebrow. "Would that work?"

"Is it true?" he countered.

"It's true."

"Then it should be fine." He stood and put his papers back into his briefcase and patted her shoulder. "Just don't let them see you sweat."

"Great, Julius, thanks, fantastic advice." She hoped the sarcasm in her voice was clear.

He grinned. "Okay, I've got to get in there. You'll want to be in the hallway by 10 so the bailiff can fetch you quickly."

"Sure."

He left the room and Alex was alone for a moment. She walked to the window and folded her arms, pensively staring out at the unfamiliar city in front of her, as large snowflakes started to come down.

***

"In your professional opinion, Dr. Danvers, do you think it's likely that the defendant, Claudius Henderson, committed this crime?" Julius asked her.

"I do not," she replied.

"And please remind us why that's the case?"

"The blood evidence points to a younger individual, perhaps a male in his mid-twenties, as opposed to someone approaching 40 anni, like Mr. Henderson."

"So the blood evidence indicates it's another person entirely, in your expert opinion?" he asked her, while facing the jury.

"That's correct."

Julius pointed at Alex as he approached the jury. "So Mr. Henderson has an alibi where not one, not two, but three individuals have all corroborated his whereabouts. And now, we're told that the science of it all says it's someone who's likely to be 15 anni or so younger than the defendant." He turned and faced Alex. "Thank you, Dr. Danvers. No more questions, your Honour."

"Would the prosecution like to cross-examine?"

As Julius went back to the defense team's table, an older, grey-haired gentleman stood from the prosecution's table. This was no assistant, this was the district attorney himself, Adrian Powell. Julius had told her to expect him as the cross-examiner.

"Dr. Danvers, thank you for coming all the way to Chicago during the coldest month of the year," he smiled.

"Of course," she said.

"So you're the lead author on a paper from Annus 2062, entitled  _ Blood: Age of Its Originator _ ?"

"I am."

"Would you please let the court know what your findings were on this paper?"

"Certainly. The essence of our research showed that we're generally able to tell the age range of an individual after testing a blood sample."

"I see," he said. "And how old is the defendant?"

"I understand that Mr. Henderson is 37 anni."

The door to the courtroom opened and Alex swallowed as she watched Margarita Sawyer slip into the room and into a seat near the back.

"And the blood sample, as impure as it is in this case, showed what?"

"While I didn't test the blood myself, the methods are taken from my paper. I've examined the results and they showed that the likeliest age range was between 20 and 30 anni, with 24-26 anni coming in at a confidence level of 91%."

He nodded. "Now, it's my understanding that, during your research, you and your fellow researchers did not use human blood, is that correct?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Instead, you used a serum that is chemically very close to blood, is that correct?"

"Yes, that's correct," she repeated.

"So, hypothetically, blood wouldn't react precisely the same way as your serum, is that correct?"

"I'm sorry, that's outside the scope of our research, though we would anticipate that blood and our serum would react extremely similarly," she answered, thankful for Julius' advice.

"Under ideal conditions?"

"Yes."

"I see." He paced for a moment, looking at the jury. "Dr. Danvers, have you seen photos of the crime scene?"

"I have." She repressed a shudder. It had been a particularly brutal crime.

"Great. Our jurors have seen them as well," he said. "Now," he turned towards her, "would you say that any evidence from that scene was gathered under ideal conditions?"

"No," she said, "but that speaks, perhaps, to the people from the police department on the scene who collected the evidence."

"How's that?" he asked.

"Well, if Ms. Sawyer, your lead forensic scientist, was present, then it's entirely possible that everything was contaminated." She smiled brightly at him and saw, at the edge of her vision, the woman glaring at her.

"I'm sorry?"

"She came to my university and told a story in the auditorium about how she'd managed to contaminate evidence with her own fingerprint at one point."

"Objection, your Honour," he said, turning to the judge. "Ms. Sawyer's competency isn't on trial here. I'd like that struck from the record."

"Overruled," the older man rumbled. "It seems to me as though Ms. Sawyer's competency could well affect the outcome."

The district attorney nodded and took a moment to gather his thoughts. "So, Dr. Danvers, are you saying that we should just throw out this part of the forensic evidence entirely?"

She shrugged. "My understanding is that the sample was small to begin with, potentially contaminated and it only gave a partial match on the DNA portion. As such, the defense team asked for the age testing to try to better distinguish Mr. Henderson from the perpetrator."

"That's not answering my question, Dr. Danvers."

"My apologies," she smiled. "I think if you're going to say that the blood evidence is valid, that it should be considered valid in its entirety. Otherwise, if you think the age testing may be contaminated based on the conditions under which it was collected, then throw out the entire blood sample as evidence."

"So either keep it all or toss it all?"

"That's correct."

"And why is that?"

"The age testing is less sensitive than the DNA sampling based on current technology. As such, if you think it's been corrupted, then the DNA sampling is likely invalid as well. If you believe the DNA sampling is adequate, then so is the age testing."

He gave her a grim look. "Very well. Thank you, Dr. Danvers. No further questions."

"You may step down, Dr. Danvers."

She smiled a thank you and nodded to Julius as she strode down the aisle to the door. She smiled at Ms. Sawyer on her way out of the courtroom.

Alex had just taken a few steps down the hallway when she heard the door to the courtroom open.

"Hey!" called a voice.

Alex turned to face her with a smile. "Why Ms. Sawyer, lovely to see you."

"Dr. Danvers, that was uncalled for."

"What was?" she said, playing innocent.

Ms. Sawyer walked right up to her. "Calling me out like that in court. You realize that will be on the record for the entire world to see?"

"Did it happen?"

"What, the fingerprint thing? Yes."

"Then perhaps the entire world should know that," she smiled down at her, delighting in being several inches taller than her. "Can I help you with anything, Ms. Sawyer?"

She glared. "Is this because I shot down your paper while at your university? In front of some of your students, no doubt?"

Alex was momentarily stunned by how accurate her statement was. Her animosity towards the other woman had  _ everything  _ to do with that moment.

"Yeah, I thought so," she muttered. "See you around, Danvers." With that, she stalked off back towards the courtroom. Alex watched her go, her arms folded across her chest, tapping her fingertips against her bicep. It was too bad they were already so antagonistic towards one another. Whatever else she was, Margarita Sawyer was really quite beautiful.

***

Julius came into the conference room about fifteen minutes later. "Amazing job, Alex, thanks so much for coming," he said.

"Sure thing, happy to help," she said, standing up and hugging her old friend. "You free yet?"

He shook his head as he pulled away. "Just a short recess," he said. "You're good to go."

"Eager to get rid of me that quickly, are you?"

He laughed. "Oh yeah, can't wait to get rid of the star of my case."

She grinned. "So no lunch?"

"Nah, I have to spend it with the rest of the team. Next time I'm in National City, all right?"

"Yeah, sounds good," she smiled.

They hugged again and Alex headed down to the main entrance where her driver should have been waiting for her. The snow was falling faster than before. It covered in the whole street and showed no signs of stopping. She pulled out her communicator and contacted the car service that was supposed to bring her back to the hotel and then to the airport.

"Yes, hi, this is Dr. Alexandra Danvers," she said, "and I'm at the courthouse waiting for my ride."

"I'm so sorry, Dr. Danvers," the woman on the other end of the connection said, "but we weren't prepared for the snow. We've got cars stuck all over the city."

"So you're saying you can't pick me up?" she asked, incredulously.

"No, Dr. Danvers, I'm so sorry. We'll refund the card in full, of course."

"That doesn't help me right now! How am I supposed to get back to my hotel and then the airport?"

"The airport?" The woman only barely hid a snort. "I'm sorry, Dr. Danvers, I'm fairly sure you won't be able to fly out tonight."

"Are you serious?"

"Have you seen the snow?"

"Yes, I've seen the snow!" she snapped. "I'm currently standing outside in it, waiting for my ride!"

"Well then you get it. Again, Dr. Danvers, I'm so sorry. Have a good day."

The connection ended and Alex stared at her communicator in disbelief.

Someone tapped her shoulder. She turned, expecting to see Julius.

It wasn't Julius.

"I heard your call," Sawyer said. "You're staying downtown?"

"The Ritz-Carlton."

"Yeah, I figured." She cleared her throat. "If you want to pretend like we don't hate each other for a half hour or so, I can give you a ride."

Alex's eyebrows flew up in surprise. "Really?"

"Really. And don't make me regret it, Danvers," she said, gesturing for her to follow.

"Uh, thanks," she said, as she quickly followed along.

"Yeah, it's a northern climate thing. You don't leave someone alone in this weather." She shrugged as they got to her car and she unlocked the door. "Go on, get in, I have to dig out the car a bit."

"Thanks," she said, sliding into the front passenger seat as the other woman reached in the back. She got a large, plastic brush out, which seemed to have an ice scraper at the bottom of the handle. Sawyer then started the car and turned on the heat before getting out and closing the doors to clear off the snow.

A few minutes later, the windshields and windows were clear, as was the hood of the car. Sawyer got back in and tossed the brush into the back seat before putting on her seatbelt and cranking up the heat. "Seat warmer?" she asked.

"Please," Alex replied. "I'm from California. It does  _ not  _ get this cold or snowy there."

"Delicate little flower, are you?" she grinned, flipping the switches to turn on the seat warmers.

"Only when it comes to the cold."

"And your ego?"

She opened her mouth and closed it. She had a point. "Touché, Ms. Sawyer."

"Maggie," she said, putting her arm around Alex's seat and turning around to reverse out of the spot.

"What?"

"Call me Maggie."

"Oh." She blinked. "Okay. You, uh, you can call me Alex."

"All right, Alex," she said, pulling her arm back and shifting into drive. "I've got four-wheel drive and snow tires, so we should be good to get to the hotel."

She cleared her throat. "Thank you," she said. "I don't deserve your kindness."

Maggie turned to her and smiled. "No, you don't." She grinned. "But you also don't deserve to be stranded this far from your hotel."

"Thank you," she said. "I appreciate it." She considered. "Let me buy you lunch to thank you."

"At the Ritz?"

"Yeah."

"I think I’ll take you up on that."

"Awesome."

They sat quietly as Maggie navigated the slippery, snowy, uncleared roads until they got to the highway where things had been plowed, at least.

"So did you ever reach out to Dr. Dunn?" Maggie asked.

"I did."

"And?"

"And we got caught up in small talk and then the semester got busy."

"Ah." Maggie looked to her left and merged. "So you haven't spoken to her about the ALP concentrations?"

"No," she said, "but I see she hasn't published anything new."

"Give her a few more months. She's pretty busy this semester."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Do you know her well?"

Maggie laughed. "Uh, we dated briefly in grad school, so yeah, you could say that."

"Oh God." Alex blushed a deep crimson.

"What? Oh, man, don't tell me you don't like gay people, because I  _ will _ leave you on the side of the highway."

She chuckled. "No, I mean… of course I don't have a problem with gay people. I was just even more embarrassed than I was because here I thought I knew Dr. Dunn well and, uh, it turns out that you  _ really  _ know her." And so her own suspicions about Maggie's orientation were answered.

"Natalia's awesome," she said. "She thinks quite highly of you, too."

"Really?"

"Really. It took me hours of trying to convince her I had a point on the concentration issue."

"Huh."

"It was a good paper."

Alex frowned. "You think so?"

"I do. I just think it's a little premature. More research needs to be done. That's all I'm saying."

She sighed, the tension in her shoulders draining. "I'm sorry I was so unprofessional on the stand."

"I'm not going to say it's okay, but I will absolutely direct people who comment on it directly to you," she grinned, glancing over at Alex.

"That sounds fair," she smiled back. She considered. "Do you think Claudius Henderson did it?"

"I do."

"Why? Doesn't he have an alibi?"

"Yeah, but two of the people corroborating his story are his old college friends and the other is one of their cousins."

Alex's eyebrows rose. "I didn't realize he knew two of them that well."

"Yeah, so it kind of comes down to the forensic evidence. I can't place him at the scene, but I can place someone with a partial DNA match on the scene."

"Wonder if it's a younger relative — cousin, nephew, something like that."

"Yeah, but he has a motive." She shrugged. "There I go again, acting as if I'm the lead detective on the case," she chuckled, self-deprecatingly.

"Does that happen often?"

"All the time."

"So why are you a forensic scientist and not a detective?"

"It's a long story," she said, waving her right hand, dismissing it.

"Well, I seem to be what you'd call a captive audience," Alex said.

"Caesar," she muttered. "You are a quick one, aren't you?"

"I try," she grinned.

Maggie sighed. "Fine."

"Hey, if I'm prying, tell me to mind my business," she said, quickly, hoping she hadn't made Maggie uncomfortable.

"Well, you  _ are  _ prying, but it's okay." She cleared her throat. "You remembered the story about the fingerprint, so I presume you remember the story of why I moved to forensics."

She nodded. "Someone was killed."

Alex, gazing at Maggie in profile, watched as she swallowed visibly.

"Yes." She swallowed again. "What I didn't tell the audience that day was that it was my girlfriend."

"Oh, Maggie," she said, "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head. "It's fine. It's been a long while since I lost Amelia." She took a breath. "I moved into forensics because I thought that's where I could help the most. I've always loved science and it was motivating to know that maybe I could help discover what happened to people who were killed, if only for their loved ones. So I figured… I figured it was how I could help."

"But?"

Maggie quirked a grin and glanced at Alex. "Boy, you don't miss much, do you?"

She shrugged, smiling back.

"But, I always thought maybe being a detective would be interesting. You get to talk to the people involved, piece things together. It's not that the forensics don't tell a story, but it's a different story."

Alex nodded. "It's a story about how the act occurred, with hints at who committed it, but not  _ why  _ someone did it."

"Exactly," Maggie said, agreeing.

She considered. "Did you ever find out?"

"With Amelia?"

She nodded.

"No," she said, making a face. "Her case is still technically open."

"Ah."

Maggie chuckled looking over at Alex. "Great, now you think I'm this textbook case of needing closure."

"Hey, you're the one who said it, not me," she grinned.

"Just for that, I'm getting lobster for lunch," she teased.

***

Alex checked on her flight status and confirmed they canceled it, so she re-booked it on her communicator for the next afternoon. When they arrived at the hotel, she asked to hold on to the room for another night.

"I'm sorry," the hotel employee said, "we don't have that room available again tonight. I can put you up in a regular room instead of the suite, if that's all right."

"Sure," she said.

"Great, it'll be room 2348."

"Perfect. Listen, all my stuff is packed up, can I ask you to move my carry-on to the new room?"

"Of course, Dr. Danvers, not a problem."

"Thank you so much," she said.

Once she'd signed off on the room change and handed in her original room key and gotten her second one, she and Maggie made their way to the restaurant. They were seated at a table for two that had just been vacated, and their coats were taken to the cloakroom for them. Despite the weather, the restaurant was busy during the lunch rush.

"Thanks again for driving me back," she said, as they perused the menu.

"Sure thing. Thanks for the lunch," Maggie replied. "Though I don't see any lobster, unfortunately…"

Alex chuckled. "Get anything you want."

"Oh, I will," she grinned.

She found that she was barely even reading the menu and was, instead, sneaking glances at Maggie. She really was lovely. And smart. And funny. And into girls, apparently.

"Wanna share the cheese board as an appetizer?" she asked.

"Hm?" Alex was pulled from her thoughts by Maggie's question.

"The artisanal cheese board," Maggie pointed at the menu.

"Oh, sure," she said, looking down at the page in front of her.

"See anything you like?" she asked.

Alex refrained from answering  _ you  _ and scanned the menu. "Oh, maybe the salmon."

"I was looking at that myself."

"Wine?" Alex asked.

"Sure, if you're having some."

"I am  _ definitely  _ having some," she grinned.

The waiter came by soon enough and they ordered the cheese board, plus two orders of the salmon fillet, plus a half-litre of the Sauvignon Blanc. Why not indulge if Julius was still paying?

They chatted amiably for a few minutes, mostly about the weather, when Maggie stopped talking and gazed over Alex's left shoulder at something.

"What?"

"Julius and Augustus," she cursed.

"What?" she asked, turning around and not seeing much of anything.

"Don't look," she whispered.

"Don't look at what?" Alex turned back around.

"It's my ex, Lucia."

"Oh?" She turned to glance over her shoulder and saw a lovely woman in a skirt and blazer, chatting with two men.

"I said don't look!" she hissed.

"Sorry," she said, turning back to face Maggie again.

"Caesar, she saw me and is walking over here." Maggie looked up at her. "Can you just please play along?"

"With what?"

"Please, follow my lead." She put on what Alex could tell was an incredibly fake smile. "Lucia. It's great to see you. You're looking well."

"You too, Maggie," she said, with what was likely an equally fake smile. She turned to Alex. "Lucia Murphy," she said, extending her hand.

"Alexandra Danvers," she said, shaking it firmly.

"Here with clients?" Maggie asked.

"As usual," Lucia replied. "And how do you two know each other?"

"She's my girlfriend," Maggie said, reaching out and grabbing Alex's hand, much to Alex's shock.

"Oh, well, uh… good luck with that," Lucia said, smiling.

"Good luck?" Alex asked.

"Well, you'll see how impossible she is."

"We've been together for a while now," Alex smiled back. "I quite enjoy her persistence and her strong opinions."

"Great Juno, what a miracle! You hang on to this one, Maggie. You won't find anyone else who calls your stubbornness persistence."

"It was great to meet you, Lucia," Alex said. "Now, if you don't mind, my girlfriend and I would like to have lunch."

Lucia just laughed. "Have a good afternoon, ladies. I think I'll take my clients elsewhere."

"You do that," Alex smiled.

"Bye," Maggie waved, with her free hand.

Together, they watched as Lucia and her two clients left the restaurant.

Maggie laughed and squeezed Alex's hand. "That was amazing," she said. "Thank you for that."

"It was the least I could do," she smiled, squeezing back, before Maggie pulled her hand away.

***

They spent far too long at lunch, chatting animatedly about all kinds of things. They went through the half-litre of wine and had another half-litre between them. Alex discovered that Maggie was exceptionally smart and quick-witted and she wished their lunch wouldn't end. However, by 3:30 in the afternoon, a full half-hour after the kitchen had closed, the waiter had apologetically informed them that they had to go in order to prepare for dinner. Alex over-tipped by quite a lot and together, she and Maggie walked out to the lobby, grabbing their coats on the way.

"Uh oh," Maggie said, looking outside.

"What?"

"The snow." She made a face. "Even with my snow tires, I don't know if I'm going to make it home. I think I waited too long." She pulled out her communicator and looked for snow clearing information. "Yeah, even the main streets are bad right now." She tapped on the screen and winced. "Here's what my porch camera shows." She held it out for Alex to see.

"Caesar," she swore, "have they cleared your street at all?"

"Doesn't look like it. And we've probably had a foot already."

"Well, let's get you a room here. I'm not going to let you go out in that."

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

Together, they walked to the desk and Alex asked for a room for Maggie.

"I'm so sorry, Dr. Danvers, we're completely full because of the storm."

"Well, you'll stay with me in my room," Alex said, deciding for them.

"What? No, I can't impose like that," Maggie began.

"It's no imposition. I've stayed here before. The rooms are huge." She turned back to the reception desk. "Can I have a second key for room 2384, please?"

"Of course, Dr. Danvers."

Moments later, the two of them exited the elevator on the twenty-third floor and they found 2384 down the hall and to the right. Alex let them in and flipped on the lights. She stopped at the closet and hung up her coat and hung up Maggie's, too.

"Uh, we might have a problem."

"What's that?" she asked, walking further into the room.

"Just one bed."

Alex looked at it. "Well, it's a king, at least."

"Look, Alex, I should go, I really don't want to impose."

"It's not an imposition!" she assured her. "It's a big bed. What, are you going to go out there and get stuck in the snow and sleep in your car overnight?"

"I gotta admit, that's not particularly tempting," Maggie said, rubbing her index finger against her chin, in thought.

"So stay here," she said. "Look, we have a desk where you can do some work if you need to. They have complementary robes and slippers. It'll be fine."

"Thank you, Alex. Really. I appreciate it." She smiled.

She shrugged, smiling back. "I'm going to call my sister. Is… uh, is there anyone you need to contact?"

"Nope."

While she had no idea whether Maggie was into her or not, at least she was single. Alex felt her stomach somersault. It boded well for her growing crush, at least.

She called Kara and let her know about the delay.

"Do you want me to fly up and get you? It'd just take a few minutes."

As tempting as the offer was, she decided against it. "No, I'm fine. I'll let you know when I'm home."

"Let me know if you change your mind."

"I promise," she said, with absolutely no intention of changing her mind.

***

They'd taken full advantage of the facilities at the hotel, including a purchase of Ritz-branded pajamas for Maggie, which Alex charged to the room. Julius would just have to deal with it.

As a thank you, Maggie had suggested a side-by-side massage, her treat. Before she knew it, Alex was gazing sleepily over at Maggie while the masseuses worked the tension out of them. It was nice, she'd decided in that half-awake stage, to have a companion for these sorts of things. Even if Maggie hadn't been gorgeous, even if she hadn't been attracted to her, she suspected she and Maggie would have gotten along as friends.

Once they got back to the room, it was about 6, but Alex wasn't hungry yet. She was, however, completely exhausted.

"So nap," Maggie said. "I'll get some work done and wake you when I'm hungry."

"Yeah?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"Sure."

Napping for an hour, in the luxury of the overly large bed was just what Alex needed. She woke of her own accord and looked over at Maggie, sitting at the desk, focused on her work. She smiled. "That was the best nap I've ever had," she declared.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Hungry?"

As if on cue, Alex's stomach rumbled audibly.

"I'll take that as a yes," she grinned. "Go get ready and I'll finish up with this report and we can go eat."

"Sounds good. Did you look at the menu?"

"Yeah. They have lobster," she grinned.

Alex laughed as she got out of the bed and made her way to the bathroom. How this was the same person she'd actively loathed just a few months ago, she had no idea.

  
  


***

By half-past seven, both the women were back in the restaurant, this time seated at a booth next to the windows. It allowed them to watch the snow continue to accumulate from the warmth and safety of their seats.

They decided to share the meat board appetizer. It was filled with delicious Italian cold cuts like prosciutto, coppa and soppressata, as an appetizer.

"What, no lobster?" Alex exclaimed after Maggie ordered the rigatoni bolognese.

"Not really in the mood after all, I guess," she grinned. "On a night like tonight, it's the comfort foods all the way."

Given their chosen appetizer, Alex wasn't feeling like having a steak, so she also got the rigatoni. "Wine?" she asked Maggie.

"Do you really need to ask?"

She grinned. "Trust me?"

Maggie nodded.

"Let's get a bottle of a Sangiovese-based Chianti," she ordered.

"Of course," the waiter said, "excellent choice."

He collected their menus and headed to the kitchen to submit their orders.

"So, Dr. Alexandra Danvers," Maggie smiled. "Tell me about yourself."

"First, I hate being called Alexandra," she laughed.

"Oops."

She grinned. "It's fine, it's just… that's what my mom calls me, you know? And I use it formally, of course. Like I imagine you use Margarita and Maggie?"

She nodded, swallowing a mouthful of water. "Yeah, most people call me Maggie in most situations. But it's not that I don't like Margarita."

"It's a nice name," Alex said, smiling. "Not as weighty as Alexandra."

"Well, that's what you get for being named for Alexander the Great. The only thing worse would be Julia or Augusta."

"Right? It's just so heavy." She shrugged. "So I like when people call me Alex. Or Dr. Danvers."

"So how did you end up in academia, Alex?" Maggie asked, with a smile.

"I was good at it," she said, honestly. "I just kind of get biochem, so I stuck with it."

"Do you enjoy teaching?"

She considered. "To an extent. I like the intro classes because there's occasionally that moment when a student just gets it, you know? That makes a whole semester worth it. I also like the advanced classes because you can really dig deep on some concepts."

"But I'm guessing that teaching isn't your passion?"

She shrugged. "The research is my passion. I like the freedom to dig into something that interests me. So if I have to teach some bored first years twice a week to get to do that, I'm okay with it."

"What's got your interest right now?"

Again, Alex found she had to keep herself from responding with a simple  _ you _ . "Oh, just, uh, looking over some papers about vaccinations and reaction rates, trying to see if there's anything there I want to dig into."

"Oh?"

"Well, you know, to put to rest the nonsense that vaccines cause autism and such."

"Thank Jupiter," she breathed, "I thought for a moment you were against vaccinations."

She laughed out loud. "I most certainly am not," she grinned.

"Good, because otherwise I would have tried to make it home in this weather anyway," she joked.

"Well, I'm glad you have standards in terms of who you share a bed with." She paused. "Uh. That… uh, that may have come out wrong."

Maggie was giggling. "Dr. Danvers, I'll have you know that I have some fairly high standards on who I share a bed with!"

"Oh?" she grinned.

"She has to be funny and smart and pretty and has to buy me dinner," she said, ticking off the qualifications on her fingers.

"Ah, I guess I fall short of your standards, since I can only really claim two of those." She forced a smile and took a drink of her water, trying to ignore the sting in her chest.

Maggie frowned. "You're kidding, right?" She tilted her head to the side. "Alex, I was describing you specifically."

"You… uh, you think," she cleared her throat. "You think I'm pretty?" she asked, suddenly feeling like she was in high school again, awkwardly asking a girl if she wanted to hold hands with her.

"I do," Maggie said, smiling. She paused and frowned. "Unless you're not okay with sharing a bed with a queer woman who thinks you're pretty." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, did I make things super awkward? Should I go home?"

"No, no," she said, "I would  _ hope  _ that any queer woman I share a bed with thinks I'm pretty," she smiled. "It's what I prefer in the women I've dated, anyway."

Maggie blinked. "You're… wait, are you gay?"

Alex frowned. "Did that not come up already?"

"No!" she laughed.

"Oh," she chuckled, "oh, okay, I get it. You thought I was scared off by you thinking I'm pretty and…" She blew out a breath. "I'm very gay, to be clear." She grinned.

"That… is wonderful information to have," Maggie smiled.

The waiter arrived with their wine.

"Thank Caesar," Alex muttered to herself. She would definitely need some wine to deal with the fact that Maggie thought she was pretty, too.

***

The conversation flowed as easily as the wine did, with some light flirtation thrown in. It was for fun, Alex told herself. Nothing would happen between them, even if they were both interested in the other, because Alex was leaving in less than twenty-four hours.

That didn't mean she couldn't tease Maggie a bit and be teased in return.

Alex took it as a personal victory when she made Maggie blush. Maggie had made a comment that the food looked amazing and Alex had replied that Maggie looked far more appetizing.

They chatted until well after the restaurant was officially closed, for the second time that day. They talked about everything from chemistry to politics, while exchanging coming out stories and tales of awful dates. It was with some regret, and trepidation on Alex’s part, that they left the restaurant at nearly eleven in the evening, heading to their room together.

They were quiet in the elevator and quiet heading down the hallway to their room. Alex felt the tension in the air between them. What had been said in jest downstairs took on a different meaning when it was just the two of them. She hurried to the door, leaving Maggie behind her, as she dug into her blazer pocket to find the room key. "Caesar," she muttered, "I think I left the key on the dresser."

"I've got mine," Maggie said, quietly, from right behind her.

Alex turned to see the other woman impossibly close to her. She looked down at her and swallowed, fully aware of her attraction, knowing that Maggie at least thought she was pretty. It would be so easy to lean down. She held her breath as Maggie slipped her right arm around Alex's left side and unlocked the door with the keycard, then pressed the handle, opening the door. Alex took a couple of steps back into the room, letting Maggie enter, before she closed and locked the door behind them. She turned around to see Maggie still standing there, still looking up at her.

She swallowed. "Maggie, I, uh…"

"If you try to tell me you don't want me, I'm not going to believe it." She took another step forward, pressing Alex against the door. "I'd respect your wishes, but I wouldn't believe it for a second."

"Of course I want you," she said, her voice rough with desire.

"Good. Or else this would be awkward." She pressed forward and pushed herself up on her toes to capture Alex's lips with her own.

Alex melted into her, into the kiss. Her arms encircled her waist, pulling her close, while Maggie's arms went around her neck.

Somehow, Alex didn't know how, they ended up on the bed. She had the presence of mind to pull away for a moment and ask Maggie if she was sure, given she was leaving tomorrow.

"If it's just for tonight," Maggie replied, pulling off her own blouse, "it's just for tonight."

Alex nodded. "Okay, as long as you're sure."

And then Maggie was in her arms.

They never did use the pajamas they'd bought for Maggie.

***

In the morning, as they lay in the bed, limbs tangled together, Alex sighed with contentment. "I don't want this to be a one-night thing," she admitted.

"Me either," replied Maggie.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She leaned over and kissed her soundly. "I know that long-distance sucks, but… would you want to try it?"

She considered. With Kara's help, she could easily spend a couple of weekends a month in Chicago. "I would," she replied, realizing that even if her sister  _ couldn't  _ fly, she'd want to make things with Maggie work. "In the meantime, I want to leave you with something to remember me by."

"You mean aside from the pajamas, which I am, by the way, bringing home with me?" Maggie chuckled.

"Definitely aside from the pajamas," Alex murmured, sliding her hands down Maggie's body.

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, each part of the series is a one-shot. There will be no second chapters or continuations within the series, so please don’t ask. :) Once I’m done with all the Earths, I may do a smaller collection based on some of my favourites from this series but that’s a long way off.


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